A new study reveals that British pensioners are the world’s least prepared for retirement, going though their life saving in as little as seven years.

The report, commissioned by the HSBC Bank, states that most UK retirees expect to live for at least 19 more years after they receive their pensions. However, it also states that most have failed to save enough to see them comfortably though their final years.

The survey encompassed 15 countries and 15,000 people, with UK respondents the worst prepared for their post-work years. Most, it says, will never get to realise their retirement dreams of long holidays in the sun, home improvements or new hobbies.

Another factor the average British retiree fails to take into consideration is the increase in life expectancy noted over the past 100 years. Many older people nowadays live well into their 90’s, by which time the coffers are empty and the family home must be sold to finance long-term care.

There’s no difference between expat retirees and those still living in the UK, as even those already in the sun are suspected of not saving enough to ensure medical expenses, hikes in the cost of living, etc, are covered. The situation is worse, however for those living overseas in countries where their state pension has been frozen at their time of migration.

The 34 per cent of UK workers who have no savings for their old age is not just a Brit problem, as 19 per cent of workers worldwide have no savings at all for their later years. The survey shows that 63 per cent of UK workers fear hardship in retirement, against 59 per cent in the other countries surveyed.